Meet our 2017 Board of Directors

David White, NECAS President

Air Boss Association of Canada

David White’s interest in aviation began at a young age. His father was a private pilot who operated a Cessna 210 out of Brampton Airport throughout David’s youth. Taking any opportunity to go flying with his dad. When his father stopped flying in the late 90s David, faced with not flying anymore went about getting his own license and now is an IFR rated private pilot operating a Cessna Cardinal out of Burlington Air Park in Burlington, Ontario.

The air show bug began at a friend's house after many cocktails when David was convinced to join the Air Operations team at the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto in 2002. He began as POC and transitioned to Air Operations Manager through to 2008. David now enjoys involvement in many shows primarily as Co-producer and Air Boss of the Waterloo Air Show, in addition to being Air Boss at several other shows, and helping Mach One Productions at many shows around the NECAS area.

Being the owner of a two-way radio dealer and service centre in the Toronto area allows David the time and flexibility to be involved in so many shows at so many different levels.

Major Indira Thackorie, NECAS Vice President

Indira Thackorie is the only "solo" female air show announcer working today in North America. She entered the air show community more than 15 years ago through the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto, Ontario, by working as a volunteer with the Media and Public Relations Committee. Since then she has contributed event management, public relations and marketing skills to numerous events and other organizations.

Indira is as a proud member of the Canadian Armed Forces and worked full time for 19 years. Having joined the Canadian Army at the age of 17, she attained the rank of Sergeant before commissioning as a Public Affairs Officer in 2008. She has operationally deployed twice; first with the United Nations in the Golan Heights, Israel (2002); and to Kandahar, Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom (2006).

Beginning in 2010, Indira had the honour of serving as the Public Affairs Officer for the Canadian Forces Parachute Team, the SkyHawks, for three consecutive seasons. In this time she announced more than 70 air shows and public events across North America. Indira has also presented at other marquee events, including the Canadian Forces' Musical Salute at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto; and Fortissimo (military music spectacular), the premiere event of the summer tourist season in the National Capital Region.

Born in Trinidad & Tobago she moved with her family to Canada in 1990 and has since traveled extensively. She has also worked as a part-time professor at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. Indira's passion is people. Her enthusiastic speaking style comes from a professional communications background that is energized by a love of air shows. When you hear the sound of her voice, you'll know you're in the right place.

John (Jack) McMahon, NECAS Treasurer

Air Heritage Museum

Jack McMahon graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in December 1968 and entered USAF pilot training in January 1969. After completion of pilot training in January 1970, came F 102 school and then F 106 school. During the next 4 years of flying the “6” came assignments first to the 94th FIS, then the 2nd FIS and finally the 49FIS. After a tour in Korea, Jack left active duty and joined the Air Force Reserves in Pittsburgh where he flew the C 123 Provider, then the C130A and finally the C130H2. During the next 20+ years there were Panama rotations; Caribbean hurricane relief missions; and a Desert Shield Deployment, in addition to numerous training missions. These all lead to retirement in 1995.

After retiring from civilian employment in 2006 and moving back to Pittsburgh, Jack joined the Air Heritage Museum. After an almost a 30 year absence, he was back to flying the Air Heritage Museum C 123 known as “Thunder Pig”. Currently, Thunder Pig is the last flying C 123 in the US. He says the expression of the Vietnam veterans that board the aircraft make all the effort to keep it flying worthwhile. Jack is Air Show Manager for the museum. His job is arranging air shows and negotiating with production companies on the use of our aircraft in TV and movies.

Naomi Wadsworth, NECAS Secretary

National Warplane Museum

Naomi Wadsworth received her Private Pilots Licence in 1981. She and friends started to have fly-ins to support CWH and in 1982, they formed the National Warplane Museum and she began flying the smaller aircraft to air shows. As time passed, she added an instrument rating and hours in a Beech 18 and Piper Aztec to her log. In the 1990s, Naomi added B-17 type rating to her ticket, and has had several opportunities to fly many great aircraft in her 30 plus years of promoting her museum and flying in air shows. In 2003, she completed her commercial multi-engine Certificate and was hired to fly a Lear 31 from New York to Florida and the Bahamas. She received her DC-3 in New York and a DC-3S type rating Flying Cargo for a company out of OpaLocka, Fl.

After the museum split, Naomi started to take on a bigger role with her air show and museum. Her roll expanded from Air Boss to a year-round commitment to the museum. She now contacts and schedules all aircraft, negotiates all contracts, oversees the Air Boss and is responsible for air show safety and waiver compliance.

Naomi is also in charge of fundraising, which includes booking outbound shows to make sure we keep'em flying.

Today, Naomi flies many aircraft, but C-47 "W-7" is where she spends most of her time. When not flying, Naomi is in sales. She currently runs a design company, creating ballroom costumes for professional and amateur ballroom dancers as well as designing wedding gowns. Naomi has two adopted black and white Siberian Huskies.

Major Benjamin Canetti

Thunder of Niagara Air Show

Ben Canetti, U.S. Air Force Reserve evaluator pilot, is the current Chief of Current Operations at the 914th Airlift Wing in Niagara Falls, New York. Ben’s history with air shows began the instant he joined the Air Force, as he was sworn in by the United States Air Force Aerial Demonstration Team, known as the Thunderbirds in 1992 at the Thunder of Niagara Air Show. Throughout his military career, Ben has been involved in various levels of air show coordination in past shows at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. In 1998 and 2000 he served as the ground static coordinator in which he supervised all of the ground displays. In 2001 and 2004, he was in command of all of the aerial acts of the Thunder Over Niagara Air Shows as the air operations officer. During this time, Ben developed and implemented a program which incorporated all entities of the air show in one living document which greatly improved air show oversight for event leadership. The program Ben developed has been successfully utilized by military air shows around the nation. Most recently, Ben served as 2011 Thunder of Niagara Air Show Director. Under his leadership and vision, the air show professionally and respectfully honored the victims of the September 11th, 2001 attacks and attracted more than 150,000 guests in a two day period. Ben firmly believes that air shows are the perfect way to showcase and highlight the precision and superior aviation abilities of military as well as civilian pilots, aircrews and maintainers. Ben naturally progressed to knowing his way around different types of air frames during his climb up the military ranks. Ben started his aviation career as an enlisted jet engine maintainer on the C‐5 Galaxy and C‐130 flight engineer. After receiving his bachelor’s degree Ben earned his commission through Officer training School and became a C‐130 pilot. As both enlisted and officer, Ben’s combat experience spans two decades as he has served in multiple military operations including, Operation Support Hope as well as The Kosovo War. In more recent operations, Ben has served as a command pilot in countless combat missions in four deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ben currently resides in Clarence Center, NY and is the proud father of two daughters, Taylor, 8 and Camryn, 5.

Dave "Huggie" Cooper

Rochester International Airshow

Dave Cooper is a native of Pennsylvania, who attended his first airshow in 1982 in Cleveland, Ohio while taking private pilot lessons. He was hooked after watching Bob Hoover’s performance in the “Shrike Commander.” At the time, he was a consulting petroleum engineer in the oil and gas business in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In 1985, he formed “Just Plane People”, a traveling airshow novelty company that participated in over 550 events nationwide from 1985 until 1999. In 1990, Dave moved to Geneseo, NY to independently manage the gift shop and away airshow novelty operations for the National Warplane Museum. In 1994, he was back on the road as a novelty vendor and airshow operations consultant throughout the U.S. In 1998 and 1999, Dave was a consultant to the Promotional Management Group and principal advisor to the March Airfest at March Air Reserve Base in California in the conduct of airshows at a military base. In 2000, he joined Beau Productions as the airshow coordinator for the Rochester International Airshow. Dave is now the Managing Director of PEC Management, LLC, which was awarded the contract to produce the Rochester International Airshow through to 2020, with extensions. In his free time, Dave collects antique glass and serves on the Board of Directors for the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. Dave holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing/Finance from Ohio University.

Dave Hewitt

Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team

Dave was born and raised in Woodstock, Ontario. He married his high school sweetheart and is a proud father of two teenage boys. Graduating in 1993 with a BASC in Mechanical Engineering Degree and a minor in Organizational Behaviour from Waterloo University, Dave’s entrepreneurial spirit found him Founder of a Metal Stampings Plant at age 25, expanding 5 times and finally being sold in 2015. He is also the Founding President of an automotive tubular parts plant which is still growing today.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Dave became a private pilot in 1989. He soloed in a Harvard two months later and started his formation career immediately, presently having a Commercial License and over 1600 hours PIC. Developing his piloting, formation and aerobatic skills he eventually co-founded the Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team (CHAT) Inc. in 2000. Currently, Dave is #2, Right Wing and Coordinator of CHAT and also flies, when time allows, a Boeing Stearman, Expeditor 3NM (Beech 18), Citabria 7KCAB, Piper J3 Cub, Hawker Hurricane, Yale, and other aircraft. Dave has been a part of the aviation community for 27 years, a member of ICAS for 15 years and joined the NECAS Board in 2017.

Amanda Scheffler

Misty Blues Skydiving Team

Amanda’s aviation interest began at 18 after talking to her mom about how boring her life was. Working 2 jobs and going to college, she needed to do something to spice up her life, like skydive! Her mother responded with “What?! Don’t you dare!” That’s when she walked over to the phone and booked her first skydive that weekend. She has been skydiving ever since. Amanda got her Skydiving Coach rating in 2001, became a senior parachute rigger with chest, back and seat ratings in 2005, and got her PRO rating in 2009. During her time skydiving she met Cindy Irish, who owned the Misty Blues All Woman Skydiving Team, and Amanda expressed her interest in performing skydiving demonstrations. After some training Cindy invited her to perform at the 2008 Vectron Dayton Air Show. In 2013 Amanda took over ownership of the Misty Blues. In Amanda’s personal life she has worked as a welder since the age of 16. She is a Journeyman Plumber/Pipefitter, a Certified Welding Inspector and currently teaches welding and fabrication at a community college. She has completed 4 college degrees and has 3 other degrees in progress.

Diana Spremo, APR

Spremo Communications

Diana Spremo is an APR* accredited and award-winning public relations and marketing communications practitioner based in Toronto, Ontario. Since 1993, Diana has enjoyed volunteering her PR and marketing skills to aviation-related organizations, with a focus on air shows. She has led the media, marketing, and/or publicity teams for Canadian International Air Show, the Canadian Air & Space Museum, the Waterloo Air Show, and currently for the Brantford Charity Airshow. Diana is also helping out with the Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour (CAAT 2017).

Diana has been on all sides of the PR world: agency, corporate and consulting, with an expertise in media relations, corporate communications, branding, social media, special events, community relations and crisis communications. Diana’s highlight of her air show volunteer career? -- flying with the Snowbirds. (APR* = Accredited Public Relations by the Canadian Public Relations Society)